Monday, June 13, 2016

Hello California

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnackBrighter #CollectiveBias

After nine months of not wanting to leave the house (or the bathroom floor really), I'm feeling like we have lots to pack in this Summer and not nearly enough time!

We flew out to visit my family in California this past week and got to spend a few days in San Diego as a family. It was amazing! We spent the days playing on the beach, and the nights relaxing poolside. It was casual and low key, but just the kind of days summer should be made of.

On that note, you'll be happy to know that we have been steadily checking things off our "Live" list: our ultimate guide of fun activities that enrich our day to day lives {I talk about it in greater detail here}. It's been such a wonderful way for us to bond and grow together as a family!

One of the first things our girls wanted to check off the list when we got to the beach was make a sand castle and turn themselves into beach mermaids. So, we quickly got started on the castle {as you can see it's remnants in the background} and then started burying Mallorie in the sand. And clearly, she was loving every minute of it!

Hayden was so cute, she kept grabbing her body-board, and going through all the motions of surfing. Once she was up on the board, she'd say "surfs up dude". It was so precious and one of those things I want to remember forever!

Madison also had a blast playing at the beach. She loved playing with the sand, and when mom wasn't looking: shoving it in her mouth.

Oh and since our kids helped curate our "Live" list, "eating ice cream on the beach" totally made the list:D! So I bought our favorite Fruit and Veggie Variety Outshine® bars, which I'll have you know are made with real fruits & veggies;).

We love Outshine® bars because they're made with the best ingredients. And, I really appreciate that they don't contain any artificial colors/flavors or high fructose corn syrup {like so many others}.

Another thing on our "Live" list that our girls were excited to do was to create a new dish. So we concocted this yummy Tropical Upside down Berry Parfait. Okay, so there's actually no yogurt in this, but the names catchy, so it kind of stuck:). It is incredibly easy to make and all you really need are a handful of ingredients.

Your start by adding 1/4 cup granola to the bottom of a cup.

Followed by 1/4 cup of strawberries.

Then 1/4 cup of blueberries.

Lastly, top with two of your favorite popsicles:). The softer, the better! We made a few different varieties of these, my favorite was the one with Outshine®'s Tropical Banana Medley because it had hints of coconut and it was incredibly refreshing {SO delicious}!

How are you celebrating Summer?

Ps. When we were picking up everything for this recipe at Walmart we noticed they were doing store sampling Demos, be sure to stop by your local Walmart on 7/14 for a sample of the new Outshine® Fruit & Veggie bars!

Oh and right now you have a chance to win a $5,000 backyard refresh from Outshine® plus hundreds of daily summertime prizes you could win instantly. Simply Text “Snack Brighter” to 30364, or enter at walmart.com/outshine. Goodluck!